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Environment and Security
34
The disintegration of the USSR in 1991 led to
a systemic crisis in all the countries of Central
Asia. In the Caspian region these changes af-
fected all sectors of society and all provinces.
Many activities and jobs that previously en-
joyed central promotion and support, such as
the uranium-mining complex in Aktau or the
minerals extraction plant in Garabogaz, lost
their importance. Former collective farms and
fisheries in the Caspian region suffered vari-
ous fates. Some were modernized, adapt-
ing in the main to the conditions of a market
economy. Others underwent serious transi-
tional shocks, leading to a general decrease
in the importance of farming in the region.
In the eastern Caspian, development of the
energy sector has changed the economic
and social structure of the whole region. As
we have seen above, all coastal provinces –
particularly in Kazakhstan – enjoyed a boom
in the energy sector and massive investment
in local industry and infrastructure.
But alongside the booming energy sector,
the share of agriculture in GRP in Atyrau and
Mangystau provinces has steadily dropped.
Experts report that a significant reduction in
agricultural output, coupled with a threefold
fall in farm-gate prices, led to a fivefold drop
in agricultural added value. This cut living
standards and increased poverty in rural ar-
eas (Chulanova, 2007: 17). Fifteen years ago
the agricultural sector of the Atyrau province
contributed 22% of GRP whereas it now
accounts for less than 3%
34
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New opportunities or a gloomy
outlook?
Changing livelihoods in the eastern Caspian region